Thursday, June 28, 2012

Yesterday, I was exhausted. We'd had a playdate at the splash park, and I came home wanting one thing, and one thing only: a nap.

The toddler, on the other hand, was wired. So, since I'm the momma and my exhaustion occasionally gets to win out, I put him in his bed and told him not to get out, that it was nap time. I'll do this on days when he won't take a nap. He still has to have a bit of "quiet rest time."

Two minutes later, I was blissfully sound asleep on the couch.

About an hour later, I was woken up to the toddler in the playroom; he was banging his box of trucks and cars. I called him into the living room, well aware that he was going to get at least a time-out for getting out of his bed.

He came walking up.

Something didn't look right.

It looked like he was soaking wet--like he'd been swimming or something.

And then the smell hit my nose. . .

The distinct smell of Vaseline.

"Don't touch anything!" I cried out. I then looked, horrified, down the hallway--the slick, greasy hallway. I walked carefully into his room, and sure enough. . .

"Oh! It's messy! Clean up!" the toddler shouted, as he dove for his favorite lovey to get right to cleaning this mess that surely someone else had made.

"No! No! Don't clean up anything! Come on, we're going to take a bath!" I shuffled him as quickly as I could into the bathroom.

I thought as soon as I got some warm water and soap, that Vaseline would come right off. WRONG. I tried toothpaste, baking soda, Dove body soap, Johnson & Johnson shampoo, Dial dishwashing soap, my husband's facewash, my facewash, Head and Shoulders, and cornstarch. The facewashes seemed to work best, but let me tell you that 24 hours later, his hair is STILL a greasy mess. (Yes, two days before his birthday party. Kill me.)

At first he didn't mind the experimenting. . .

But he started to lose it before too long. . .

People, here is my message to you: Throw away your Vaseline.

Like seriously, when have you ever even used it?

I cannot begin to tell you how awful it was to get the bulk of it out of his hair. My husband even said at one point, "We might have to cut it--" "NOOOOO," I shrieked (yes, shrieked).

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

I texted a couple of my friends this morning: "I'm about to brave the mall with a two yr old. Am I insane?"

One of them texted me back a single, emphatic word: "Absolutely!"

Well, we survived! I needed to return a couple of items, so the trip was unavoidable. I popped open the umbrella stroller, stuffed the toddler inside, and walked timidly into Dillard's.

The toddler was starting to get antsy and take his shoes off. He shouted, "I'm stuck! Stuck! STUCK!" So in an attempt to calm him down, I said, "Shh! Do you want to get some lunch?" That quieted him down, and I hoped he would forget by the time I checked out.

Nope.

"Lunch?" he asked. Sigh. If there's anything more terrifying than braving the mall with a toddler, it's deciding to take him to the food court.

But, what can I say? He was uncharacteristically good. He ate his pizza. He kept his shoes on. He only spilled the purple Gatorade about four times. Not too bad. :)

When it came time to leave, and the toddler had assured me that he was "all done," I stuffed everything onto the tray, put the toddler in the stroller, swung my purse over my shoulder, and tied our Calphalon bag onto the handle of the stroller, just as the toddler screamed, "MY PIZZA!!!!!!"

Apparently, he wasn't "all done."

But actually, he was. Because right after taking a bite and chewing it for a bit, he spit that thing right back out. [Cue Mommy running with bags bouncing and a napkin in hand to catch pizza.]

After (I'm honest, people) getting turned around in my own mall (that I've been going to since I was only a little older than the toddler) and about four or five elevator rides (I'm literally not kidding), we made it out.

One cute thing? The toddler kept saying, "Open alligator doors!" I guess he couldn't hear the distinction between his favorite reptile and the word "elevator." :)

Friday, June 22, 2012

Oh my gosh, we're here! Thank the Lord! We made it to the last year of medical school! (There will be lots of exclamation points in this post. Bear with me.)

In so many ways I can't believe it's finally here. But in other ways, I've been waiting for this for so long.

The hubby's last rotation in his third year was surgery--the one that everyone says is terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad. Also, the one my husband wants to go into. And can I just say, "What was everyone complaining about!?" The hubbs loved it! And I didn't notice much of a difference in the amount of time that we got to see him. I'm thrilled that my husband is passionate about what he wants to pursue in medicine.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

As all of our days do, Father's Day began early and in the kitchen. The toddler and I were cooking up a storm! :)

We made cinnamon streusel muffins! And the toddler was pretty excited about it! :)

The toddler had to sign Daddy's card!

Finally, it was time to surprise Daddy with breakfast in bed and his gift!

The toddler and I went to The Painted Pig Studio, and the toddler painted this mug all by himself! And then the staff helped to paint his hand and get his hand print on there (a task I never could have done!).

We even managed to get a pre-church photo shoot with Daddy!

The toddler is so very blessed to have the greatest daddy in the whole wide world! :)

Thursday, June 14, 2012

After our berry-picking adventure yesterday morning, I decided to make a blackberry cobbler. I looked on-line for the perfect recipe, and I settled on the Pioneer Woman's. I've never made one of her recipes before. So what won me over? Her recipe used the most sugar.

Sold.

It was delicious! And this morning, the toddler somehow managed to scramble onto the kitchen counter and destroy it with a "spatulet," as he calls a spatula. (So if you have a climbing-with-the-skills-of-Tarzan toddler, who has a special love for messes and kitchen utensils, you might want to stick this one waaaaay out of reach.)

You will need:

1/2 cup of butter, melted

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup of self-rising flour

1 cup of milk

c. 2 cups (or whatever you feel like) of blackberries

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

1. Mix butter, sugar, flour, and milk together in a bowl. Whisk until smooth.

2. Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 (or whatever--Mrs. Pioneer Woman does not specify, so that's what I used)